Albums of the year 2016

No, this isn’t a misspelling.

Despite doing my annual Festive Fifty tracks at the end of last year, I never published my albums of the year list. For those that might care – and you’ve read this far – there were a handful of reasons for this.

Firstly, that I was trying to agree on an order. The final two choices I couldn’t quite make up my mind about. Secondly, there were a couple of albums I wanted to hear before I did the list that for one reason or another I hadn’t heard then. And as life changes, sometimes it’s just not possible to hear fifty albums well enough to rank them in order.

So, with that in mind, I’ve put together a top ten from last year, with a number that can be considered to have been worthy runners-up.

  1. David Bowie Blackstar
  2. Michael Kiwanuka Love And Hate
  3. K Fellowship (AKA Kate Bush) Before The Dawn
  4. Skepta Konichiwa
  5. Radiohead A Moon Shaped Pool
  6. Kano Made In the Manor
  7. PJ Harvey The Hope Six Demolition Project
  8. Mogwai Atomic
  9. Frank Ocean Blonde
  10. Beyoncé Lemonade

…and worthy runners-up (in no particular order)

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Skeleton Tree

Leonard Cohen You Want It Darker

Shirley Collins Lodestar

Dexys Let the Record Show: Dexys Do Irish And Country Soul

Kristin Hersh Wyatt At The Coyote Palace

Modern Studies Swell To Great 

Emma Pollock In Search Of Harperfield

Underworld Barbara, Barbara We Face A Shining Future

Scott Walker The Childhood Of A Leader

Wedding Present Going, Going…

Lest we forget…

2015 Bjork Vulnicura

2014 Lisa Gerrard Twilight Kingdom

2013 Dead Flowers Midnight At The Wheel Club 

2012 Grimes Genesis

2011 PJ Harvey Let England Shake

2010 DeLorean Subiza

2009 Broken Records Until The Earth Begins To Part

2008 Cave Singers Invitation Songs

2007 Burial Untrue

2006 Camera Obscura Let’s Get Out Of This Country

 

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